Rocket Stack Rank™ (RSR) aims to help casual SF fans find and discuss great original short fiction. It reviews science fiction and fantasy short stories, novelettes, and novellas, and publishes articles of interest to fans.

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Thursday, July 5, 2018

Lieutenant Tightass, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

(Space Opera; Diving Universe) Coop is eager to make a difference in his first mission as a new lieutenant on a search-and-rescue ship, but the rest of the crew doesn’t seem to work very hard or care very much, and they definitely don’t appreciate his meddling. (12,872 words; Time: 42m)

Although this story is set in the author’s Diving Universe series, it’s a prequel to the others, so it has no dependencies on the rest, nor does it spoil any of the later stories. This makes it an excellent starting point for the series as a whole, as well as a great stand-alone read

Pro: We share Coop’s frustration with the checked-out captain and the lackadaisical crew, but we also share his growing realization that things are not quite what he thought. A mission that risks everyone’s lives every day on the off-chance that they rescue someone has got to wear people down and make them superstitious. So superstitious that they object to changing any element of their routine.

But Coop is genuinely intelligent and eager to do a good job for its own sake. He has actual good ideas, and by persisting, he manages to rescue a ship, albeit only two of the crew.

Captain Nisen looks pretty bad at the start, but as the story progresses she looks better and better. She’s very harsh to Coop, but she does listen to his ideas, and she never comes across as a cardboard villain.

The surface plot is simple enough: rescue the missing ship, but once we understand the risks of the Anacapa drive, there’s plenty of tension and excitement.

And the Diving Universe setting is fascinating in its own right. People who've read more of the series will be interested in reading more about Coop's life in the Fleet before he meets Boss.

I started with "Runabout" and ended up binge-reading the whole set. Every few novellas, she produces a new "novel," so the best way to catch up is to read those novels. She's got a suggested reading order.

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